Monday morning two by two the teenagers came to church.
The girls came around nine o’ clock, but when they saw there was nobody, they went away to return later.
In all the cultures we know the teenagers all react like this. Nobody wants to be first. The girls come in time and the boys come when they feel it is time.
Boys and girls like to sing. it is not always nice to hear, but that’s not important. It is so nice to see these young boys and girls getting the opportunity to grow in their skills.
During biblestudy time everybody is willing enough to answer the questions. They shout their answers to the teacher, standing and jumping to get attention. The teachers keep close to the booklets made by Klasien, Anneke and Ilse earlier this year. We plan to teach them to make their own studies next year, God willing.
At the end of each morning we have the ‘sword drill’. All teenagers hold their bibles in the air. A verse is asked for. Who finds the text first rises and reads the text out loud. The first one gets a mark on the blackboard. Every morning we close with the finale between the best boy and the best girl. They keep asking for more!
Monday also the kids under the age of twelve came to join the party. The leaders felt so sorry to have to send them back home that they decided to also have a childrens club every morning. Talking about improvising! Some childrensworkers from other villages taught about Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel and about Jonah using flash cards. The children also love to sing, so we could hear them from quite a distance.
During all these activities the women are cooking a meal on an open fire. That’s hot! Zeven days the women, with the help of some men, prepared enough food to feed well over one hundred mouths.
While we are taking a nap in our hammocks, we hear the kids and teenagers already begin to play soccer and volleybal. The heat of the sun doesn’t mind them at all. A lot of adults also play along.
It’s been a pleasure watching all the people in the village having fun without drunkeness.
A couple of afternoons we have been meeting with the board of the church to learn tHavenweg to keep a good administration of the church funds. They seem to grasp the importance of it, but we figure we need another three to five years to really get it going.
It is encouraging to hear one of the leaders in church talking about the importance of a written inheritance. We see the shift from an oral culture to a written culture taking place. It is our priviledge to serve these dear people.